Process for high voltage superjunction termination

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having an active region and a termination region includes providing a semiconductor substrate having first and second main surfaces opposite to each other. The semiconductor substrate has an active region and a termination region surrounding the active region. The first main surface is oxidized. A first plurality of trenches and a first plurality of mesas are formed in the termination region. The first plurality of trenches in the termination region are filled with a dielectric material. A second plurality of trenches in the termination region. The second plurality of trenches are with the dielectric material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/318,873, filed Dec. 27, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,818 B2, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/639,241, filed Dec. 27, 2004, entitled “Process for High VoltageSuperjunction Termination.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing asemiconductor device having a termination region, and in particular to amethod of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a dielectricregion for enhancement of device reverse voltage blocking capability.

Since the invention of superjunction devices by Dr. Xingbi Chen, asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,275, there have been many attempts toexpand and improve on the superjunction effect of his invention. U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,410,958, 6,300,171 and 6,307,246 are examples of suchefforts and are incorporated herein by reference.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,410,958 (“Usui, et al.”) relates to an edge terminationstructure and a drift region for a semiconductor component. Asemiconductor body of one conductivity type has an edge area with aplurality of regions of the other conductivity type embedded in at leasttwo mutually different planes. Underneath the active zone of thesemiconductor component the drift regions are connected using theunderlying substrate.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,246 (“Nitta, et al.”) discloses a powersemiconductor component having a high-voltage sustaining edge structurein which a multiplicity of parallel-connected individual components aredisposed in a multiplicity of cells of a cell array. In an edge region,the semiconductor component has cells with shaded source zone regions.During commutation of the power semiconductor component, the shadedsource zone regions suppress the switching “on” of a parasitic bipolartransistor caused by the disproportionately large reverse flow currentdensity. Moreover, an edge structure having shaded source zone regionscan be produced very easily in technological terms that are discussed inthe Nitta, et al. patent. It clarifies the effects of parameters andenables the mass production of a superjunction semiconductor devicewhich has a drift layer composed of a parallel pn layer that conductselectricity in the “on” state and is depleted in the “off” state. Thenet quantity of active impurities in the n-type drift regions is withinthe range of 100% to 150% of the net quantity of active impurities inthe p-type partition regions. In addition, the width of either one ofthe n-type drift regions and the p-type partition regions is within therange between 94% and 106% of the width of the other regions.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,300,171 (“Frisina”) discloses a method for manufacturingan edge structure for a high voltage semiconductor device, including afirst step of forming a first semiconductor layer of a firstconductivity type, a second step of forming a first mask over the topsurface of the first semiconductor layer, a third step of removingportions of the first mask in order to form at least one opening in themask, a fourth step of introducing dopant of a second conductivity typein the first semiconductor layer through the at least one mask opening,a fifth step of completely removing the first mask and of forming asecond semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type over the firstsemiconductor layer, and a sixth step of diffusing the dopant implantedin the first semiconductor layer in order to form a doped region of thesecond conductivity type in the first and second semiconductor layers.The second step up to the sixth step are repeated at least one time inorder to form a final edge structure including a number of superimposedsemiconductor layers of the first conductivity type and at least twocolumns of doped regions of the second conductivity type, the columnsbeing inserted in the number of superimposed semiconductor layers andformed by superimposition of the doped regions subsequently implantedthrough the mask openings, the columns near the high voltagesemiconductor device being deeper than the columns farther from the highvoltage semiconductor device.

It is desirable to provide a method of manufacturing a high voltagesemiconductor device having an oxide region for enhancement of devicereverse voltage blocking capability.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a semiconductor deviceand a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device. The semiconductordevice has an active region and a termination region. The method ofmanufacturing the semiconductor device includes providing asemiconductor substrate having first and second main surfaces oppositeto each other. The semiconductor substrate having first and second mainsurfaces opposite to each other. The semiconductor substrate has aheavily doped region of a first conductivity type at the second mainsurface and a lightly doped region of the first conductivity type at thefirst main surface. The semiconductor substrate has an active region anda termination region surrounding the active region. The first mainsurface is oxidized. A first plurality of trenches and a first pluralityof mesas are formed in the termination region. Each trench of the firstplurality of trenches extends from the first main surface toward theheavily doped region to a first depth position. The first plurality oftrenches in the termination region are filled with a dielectricmaterial. A second plurality of trenches is formed in the terminationregion. Each trench of the second plurality of trenches extends from thefirst main surface toward the heavily doped region to a second depthposition. The second plurality of trenches are filled with a dielectricmaterial.

The present invention also comprises a semiconductor device and a methodof manufacturing a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device has anactive region and a termination region. The method of manufacturing thesemiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor substrate havingfirst and second main surfaces opposite to each other. The semiconductorsubstrate has a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type at thesecond main surface and has a lightly doped region of the firstconductivity type at the first main surface. A trench is formed in thetermination region. The trench extends from the first main surfacetoward the heavily doped region to a first depth position. The trench isgreater than 20 micrometers wide and is filled with an oxide material.

The present invention also comprises a semiconductor device and a methodof manufacturing a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device has anactive region and a termination region. The method of manufacturing thesemiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor substrate havingfirst and second main surfaces opposite to each other. The semiconductorsubstrate has a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type at thesecond main surface and has a lightly doped region of the firstconductivity type at the first main surface. A plurality of trenches anda plurality of mesas are formed in the termination region. Each trenchof the plurality of trenches extends from the first main surface towardthe heavily doped region to a first depth position. The plurality ofmesas in the termination region are oxidized until the plurality ofmesas are sufficiently converted to an oxide material. The plurality oftrenches in the termination region are filled with an oxide.

The present invention also comprises a semiconductor device and a methodof manufacturing a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device has anactive region and a termination region. The method of manufacturing thesemiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor substrate havingfirst and second main surfaces opposite to each other. The semiconductorsubstrate has a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type at thesecond main surface. An oxide substrate having first and second mainsurfaces opposite to each other is also provided. The second mainsurface of the oxide substrate is bonded/annealed to the first mainsurface of the semiconductor substrate. A trench is formed in the oxidesubstrate proximate the active region. The trench extends from the firstmain surface of the oxide substrate to the first main surface of thesemiconductor substrate. The trench is filled with an epitaxial layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofpreferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood whenread in conjunction with the appended drawings. For purposes ofillustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodimentswhich are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, thatthe invention is not limited to the precise arrangements andinstrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional elevational view of a semiconductorsubstrate with an epitaxial layer applied;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 1 after deposition of a layer of oxide;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 2 after a mask is applied and an etchingstep performed;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 3 after an oxide deposition fills thetrenches etched in FIG. 3 and the resulting surface is planarized;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 4 after applying a second mask andperforming an etch step;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 5 after an oxide fill of the trenchesetched in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 6 after planarization of the surface;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 7 after masking and etching of trenches inan active region;

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 8 showing ion implantation into trenchsidewalls in the active region from a first angle to begin formation ofp-n junctions along the depth direction of the mesas;

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 9 showing ion implantation into the trenchsidewalls opposite to those implanted in FIG. 9, completing theformation of p-n junctions along the depth direction of the mesas;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the partially formed semiconductor deviceof FIG. 10 showing mesas, trenches and wide oxide regions;

FIG. 12 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 10 after filling the implanted trencheswith oxide, depositing a thin layer of dielectric material such assilicon nitride to reduce or prevent warping of the surface, andplanarization of the surface;

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 12 with a p⁺ doped region implanted on thesurface of the p-n junction;

FIG. 14 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 13 with an n⁺ doped region implanted in thep⁺ doped region;

FIG. 15 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 14 after a gate dielectric and a gateconductor are deposited thereon;

FIG. 16 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 15 after an oxide deposition covers thegate conductor completing formation of a superjunction semiconductordevice;

FIG. 17 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 2 after a mask is applied and an etchingstep performed;

FIG. 18 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 17 during ion implantation;

FIG. 19 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 18 after trench refill;

FIG. 20 is a partial sectional elevational view of an oxide wafer beingbonded to a semiconductor substrate and after etching the oxide wafer;

FIG. 21 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 18 after epitaxial growth or other refill;and

FIG. 22 is a partial sectional elevational view of the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 21 after planarization.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenienceonly and is not limiting. The words “right”, “left”, “lower”, and“upper” designate directions in the drawing to which reference is made.The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer direction toward and awayfrom, respectively, the geometric center of the object described anddesignated parts thereof. The terminology includes the words abovespecifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.Additionally, the words “a” and “an,” as used in the claims and in thecorresponding portions of the specification, mean “at least one.”

As used herein, reference to conductivity will be limited to theembodiment described. However, those skilled in the art know that p-typeconductivity can be switched with n-type conductivity and the devicewould still be functionally correct (i.e., a first or a secondconductivity type). Therefore, where used herein, the reference to n orp can also mean that either n and p or p and n can be substitutedtherefor.

Furthermore, n⁺ and p⁺ refer to heavily doped n and p regions,respectively; n⁺⁺ and p⁺⁺ refer to very heavily doped n and p regions,respectively; n⁻ and p⁻ refer to lightly doped n and p regions,respectively; and n⁻⁻ and p⁻⁻ refer to very lightly doped n and pregions, respectively. However, such relative doping terms should not beconstrued as limiting.

FIGS. 1-16 generally show a process for manufacturing a superjunctionsemiconductor device with conventional terminations in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a partial view of a semiconductorwafer that includes a heavily doped n⁺ substrate 3 and a lightly dopedn⁻ layer 5. Preferably, the semiconductor substrate is formed of silicon(Si). But, the semiconductor substrate may be formed of other materialssuch as gallium arsenide (GaAs), germanium (Ge) or the like.

FIG. 2 shows that an oxide layer 6 is grown or deposited on the surfaceof the lightly-doped n⁻ layer 5. Referring to FIG. 3, a first mask 51(shown in phantom) is selectively applied over the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 2. The first mask 51 may be created bydeposition of a layer of photoresist or in some other manner well knownto those skilled in the art. The developed photoresist is removed andundeveloped photoresist remains in place as is known in the art. Forsimplification, the mask 51 refers to the material used to preventcertain areas of a semiconductor from being etched, doped, coated or thelike.

Trenches 19 are formed in the areas not covered by the first mask 51 bya process such as etching. The etching process can be a chemical etch, aplasma etch, a Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) or the like. The etching of thepartially formed semiconductor device of FIG. 2 creates a plurality ofmesas 18 and a plurality of trenches 19 in a termination region of thepartially formed semiconductor device. The trenches 19 extend from thefirst main surface of the epitaxial layer 5 toward the substrate(heavily doped region) 3 to a first depth position illustrated by depthB₁, but not necessarily all the way to the substrate (heavily dopedregion) 3. The width A₁ of each of the trenches 19 adjacent to mesas 18is about the same relative to the other trenches 19. The partiallyformed semiconductor device includes an active region within thetermination region. The active region is the area in which superjunctiondevices are constructed. The termination region is the area where noactive devices are located, providing isolation between cells of activedevices on an overall semiconductor wafer or chip. Thus, the activeregion is the area on which semiconductor devices will be formed, andthe termination region is an area which provides insulation betweencells of active devices. After the first trenching process, the firstmask 51 is removed using techniques known in the art.

FIG. 4 shows that the trenches 19 (FIG. 3) previously etched in thetermination region are filled with oxide 16 in a manner well known inthe art. Optionally, a thin layer of dielectric such as silicon nitride(Si_(x)N_(y)) may be deposited over the oxide 16. After a sufficientcooling period, the partially formed semiconductor device is planarized.The planarizing may be performed using chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) or any other suitable planarization technique.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second mask 52 (shown in phantom) is selectivelyapplied over the partially formed semiconductor device of FIG. 4.Trenches 9, 17 are formed in the areas not covered by the second mask 52by a process such as etching. The etching process can be a chemicaletch, a plasma etch, an RIE or the like. The second masking and etchingstep removes the remaining epitaxial material in the termination regionto form trenches 17 between the oxide columns 8 created in the previousfilling step, and creates trenches 9 and mesas 11 in the active regionof the structure. The n⁻ layer 5 is etched so that the bottom of anetched trench 9, 17 touches or approaches the interface between the n⁺substrate 3 and the n⁻ layer 5. The trenches 17 extend from the firstmain surface toward the substrate 3 to a second depth positionillustrated by depth B₂, but not necessarily all the way to thesubstrate 3. The width A₂ of each of the trenches 17 adjacent to theoxide columns 8 is about the same relative to the other trenches 17.

The mesas 11 are referred to as “device mesas” because the mesas 11 arein the active region, as opposed to the surrounding termination region.The device mesas 11 will be used to form the voltage sustaining layerfor each transistor or active device cell manufactured by the process.The trenches 9 extend from the first main surface of the epitaxial layer5 toward the substrate 3 to a third depth position illustrated by depthB₃, but not necessarily all the way to the substrate 3. The width A₃ ofeach of the trenches 9 adjacent to device mesas 11 is about the samerelative to the other trenches 9. Though not shown clearly, the trenches9 are preferably wider at their tops by 1%-10% than at their bottoms tofacilitate the trench fill process. Thus, the mesas 11 have sidewallsurfaces with a predetermined inclination maintained relative to a firstmain surface of the epitaxial layer 5. After the second trenchingprocess, the second mask 52 is removed using techniques known in theart.

The surfaces of the semiconductor substrate and/or the semiconductorlayer and/or trenches 9, 17 may be smoothed, if needed, using one ormore of the following process steps:

-   -   (i) an isotropic plasma etch may be used to remove a thin layer        of silicon (typically 100-1000 Angstroms (Å)) from the trench        surfaces.    -   (ii) a sacrificial silicon dioxide layer may be grown on the        surfaces of the trench and then removed using an etch such as a        buffered oxide etch or a diluted hydrofluoric (HF) acid etch.

The use of either or both of these techniques can produce smooth trenchsurfaces with rounded corners while removing residual stress andunwanted contaminates. However, where it is desirable to have verticalsidewalls and square corners, an anisotropic etch process is usedinstead of an isotropic etch process. Anisotropic etching, in contrastto isotropic etching, generally means different etch rates in differentdirections in the material being etched.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the trenches 9, 17 in both the active andtermination regions, respectively, created by the second masking andetching step shown in FIG. 5, are filled with oxide material in order tocreate oxide columns 14 in the active region and a relatively thick andwide oxide region 12 in the termination region (see e.g., FIG. 11 topplan view). The overall width of the oxide region 12 is on the order of20-60 micrometers or microns (μm). A thin layer of dielectric 10, suchas silicon nitride, is deposited over the oxide to reduce or eliminateany warping problems.

The surface of the partially formed semiconductor device of FIG. 6 isthen planarized and the resulting partially formed semiconductor devicestructure is shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 8 is a resulting partially formedsemiconductor device structure after masking and etching steps removethe oxide 14 that was deposited in the trenches 9 in the active regionby a similar process as described above.

FIG. 9 shows an ion implant in the structure of FIG. 8 from a firstpredetermined angle Φ (i.e., first predetermined angle of implant Φ).The first predetermined angle of implant Φ is determined by the width A₃and depth B₃ of the trenches 9 (i.e., A₃/B₃=tangent of the implant angleΦ) which is typically from about 2° to 12° from vertical. The implant isdone at an angle Φ so that the bottom of each trench 9 is not implanted.Implantation of the bottom of trenches 9 is avoided so that diffusion ofthe implant to surrounding areas does not occur. The implant isperformed at an energy level of about 30-200 kilo-electron-volts (KeV)with dose ranges from about 1E13 to 1E14 cm⁻² (i.e., about 1×10¹³ to1×10¹⁴ cm⁻²). Consequently, a dopant of the first conductivity type isimplanted, at a first predetermined angle of implant Φ, into at leastone preselected device mesa 11 of the preselected area of the pluralityof device mesas 11 and the plurality of trenches 9 at an adjacent pairof the plurality of trenches 9 at a sidewall surface of one trench 9, toform at the sidewall surface of the one trench 9 a first doped region ofthe first conductivity type having a doping concentration lower thanthat of the heavily doped region 3. This step begins the process ofcreating a p-n junction along the depth direction of the device mesas 11in the active region.

FIG. 10 shows an ion implant in the structure of FIG. 9 from a secondpredetermined angle Φ′ (i.e., second predetermined angle of implant Φ′).The second predetermined angle of implant Φ′ is also determined by thewidth A3 and depth B3 of the trenches 9 (i.e., −(A3/B3)=tangent of theimplant angle Φ′) which is typically from about −2° to −12° fromvertical. The implant is done at an angle Φ′ so that the bottom of eachtrench 9 is not implanted. It should be noted that the firstpredetermined angle of implant Φ and the second predetermined angle Φ′may be about the same magnitude or may be different. Implantation of thebottom of trenches 9 is avoided so that diffusion of the implant tosurrounding areas does not occur. The implant is performed at an energylevel of about 30-200 KeV with dose ranges from about 1E13 to 1E14 cm⁻².Consequently, a dopant of the second conductivity type is implanted, ata second predetermined angle of implant Φ′, into the at least one devicemesa 11 of the preselected area of the plurality of device mesas 11 andthe plurality of trenches 9, at a sidewall surface of the at least onedevice mesa 11 opposite to the sidewall implanted with the dopant of thefirst conductivity type to provide a second doped region of the secondconductivity type at the sidewall surface opposite to the sidewallimplanted with the dopant of the first conductivity type, to form a p-njunction of the first and second doped regions located along the depthdirection of at least one of the plurality of trenches 9 and to providenon-implanted outer sidewalls of the active region. This implantcompletes the process of creating a p-n junction along the depthdirection of the device mesas 11 in the active region.

The doping is performed by one of ion implantation, solid diffusion,liquid diffusion, spin-on deposits, plasma doping, vapor phase doping,laser doping or the like. Doping with boron B results in a more p-typeregion, doping with phosphorus P results in a more n-type region anddoping with arsenic Ar results in a more n-type region. Other dopantsmay be utilized such as antimony Sb, bismuth Bi, aluminum Al, indium In,gallium Ga or the like depending on the material of the substrate andthe desired strength of the doping. Preferably, the doping is performedby ion implantation.

Following implanting, a drive in step at a temperature of up to 1200°Celsius may be performed for up to 12 hours so that the device mesas 11are converted to p-n columns 13. It should be recognized that thetemperature and time are selected to sufficiently drive in the implanteddopant. But, the energy level used to perform ion implantation, asdescribed above, may be high enough to sufficiently drive in the dopantswithout departing from the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the partially formed semiconductor devicecreated by the process showing trenches 9 separating the n-p columns 13in the active region and the wide oxide region 12 in the terminationregion. FIG. 11 shows one of many possible top plan views of thepartially formed semiconductor device. FIG. 11 shows a stripe design(i.e., n-p columns 13 in rows and columns) instead of a polygonal celllayout, but the embodiments do not necessarily preclude a polygonal cellstructure. Many other geometrical arrangements of columns 13 andtrenches 9 are also contemplated without departing from the invention.The columns 13 are not limited to n-p and may be n-p-n, p-n-p, n-pp-n,p-nn-p or the like without departing from the invention.

Any oxide process may be used to fill the trenches 9 with silicondioxide (FIG. 12). The n-p columns 13 are then surrounded by the silicondioxide 21. However, it has been found that the filling of the trenches9 can cause the devices to warp. The warping problem can be reduced oreliminated by depositing a thin dielectric layer such as silicon nitride(e.g., Si_(x)N_(y)) over the oxide. FIG. 12 shows the partially formedsemiconductor device of FIG. 10, after the trenches 9 in the activeregion have been filled with oxide 21, a thin layer 192 of a dielectricsuch as silicon nitride has been deposited over the oxide 21, and thesurface of the partially formed semiconductor device has beenplanarized.

FIGS. 13-16 show the process of forming a superjunction device on thestructure created above. FIG. 13 shows that a p⁺ doped region 22 hasbeen implanted. An n⁺ doped region 20 formed in the p⁺ doped region 22is depicted in FIG. 14. The n⁺ region 20 will serve as a source regionfor the superjunction device. FIG. 15 shows a gate dielectric 24 isdeposited, and a gate conductor 26 deposited on the gate dielectric 24.FIG. 16 shows the gate conductor 26 has been covered with another oxidelayer 24. Thus, FIG. 16 shows a superjunction device being formed on thepartially formed semiconductor device of FIG. 12, using methods wellknown in the art. The superjunction device is now ready for completionby adding contact and passivation layers.

A passivation material may be applied to either the first or second mainsurfaces using one of thermal growth, low pressure (LP) chemical vapordeposition (CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD),Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), spun-on-glass(SOG), glass frit, deposition, direct application and combinationsthereof. The passivation material may be one of an oxide, a nitride, aglass and doped/undoped polysilicon.

The performance of devices built or formed on this structure haveenhanced avalanche breakdown voltage (Vb) characteristics as compared toconventional semiconductor-transistor devices. Fabrication ofconventional metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)device(s) on the active area can then take place using well known steps.Additional steps complete the device by selectively implanting activeregions of a second conductivity type followed by selectively implantingregions of a first conductivity type. Contacts to regions on the frontsurface and to the back surface are also made, and a passivation layermay be deposited and patterned to complete the device fabricationsequence.

In alternate embodiment, shown in FIGS. 17-19, a relatively wide trench30 is formed in the termination region. The relatively wide trench 30 isapproximately 20-60 μm wide. FIG. 18 shows that ion implantation mayproceed, as described above with respect to FIGS. 9-10. The trench 30 isthen completely refilled with oxide to form the wide oxide region 12 asshown in FIG. 19. The wide oxide region 12 is approximately 20-60 μmwide.

In another alternate embodiment, beginning at FIG. 5, only trenches 9and 17 are formed in the first main surface to thereby define the mesas11 and 8, respectively. The mesas 8 in the termination region have awidth of about 1.0 to 1.5 micrometers (μm) and the mesas 11 in theactive region have a width of about 4.0 to 5.0 μm. The method furtherincludes forming a shallow layer of oxide on the exposed surfaces of theplurality of trenches 9 and 17 and the plurality of mesas 8 and 11 (FIG.5), before implanting the dopants into the sidewalls of the mesas 11 inthe active region. The plurality of trenches 9 and 17 are oxidized untiloxidation substantially consumes each of the about 1.0 to 1.5 μm mesas 8in the termination region. The trenches 17 remaining in the terminationregion should be filled by the oxidation process thereby producing thewide oxide region 12 in the termination region adjacent to the activeregion and to fill the remaining trenches 9 in the active region. Thewide oxide region 12 is approximately 20-60 μm wide. Finally, thesurface of the partially formed semiconductor device is planarized and asuperjunction device is formed thereon.

In another alternate embodiment shown in FIGS. 20-22, asilicon-on-insulator (SOI) or simply a thick oxide wafer 40 is bonded toa substrate 3. The annealing/bonding process may include heating thesubstrate 3 and wafers 40 in an annealing furnace for a number ofminutes or hours. For example, the stacked substrate 3 and wafers 40 maybe placed in an annealing furnace at 800-1200° C. for few a minutes toseveral hours to cause the materials to sufficiently bond. The annealingprocess may be performed in an inert ambient atmosphere, e.g., nitrogengas, or in an oxidizing ambient atmosphere, e.g., pure oxygen,oxygen/nitrogen mixture, steam or the like. During a “wet” anneal, i.e.,when steam is the ambient, the steam is generated using a mixture ofoxygen and hydrogen typically above 800° C. Any silicon portion abovethe thick oxide 12 of the thick oxide wafer 40, e.g., in the case of theSOI wafer, is removed by a process such as CMP. A portion of the thickoxide wafer 40 is etched away using techniques described above forcreating an active region. As shown in FIG. 21, a thick epitaxial layer5 is grown on the substrate 3 and the remaining oxide wafer 40. FIG. 22shows that the partially formed semiconductor device is planarizedleaving a wide oxide region 12 in the termination region and theepitaxial region 5 in the active region which can be etched, implantedand refilled to create n-p columns 13 or the like as described above.

By providing a relatively wide oxide region 12 in the terminationregion, reverse voltage blocking is enhanced in the high voltage devicesformed in the active region.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention isdirected to a high voltage semiconductor device having an oxide regionfor enhancement of device reverse voltage blocking capability. It willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made tothe embodiments described above without departing from the broadinventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that thisinvention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but itis intended to cover modifications within the spirit.

1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having an activeregion and a termination region surrounding the active region, themethod comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate having first andsecond main surfaces opposite to each other, the semiconductor substratehaving a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type at the secondmain surface and having a lightly doped region of the first conductivitytype at the first main surface; forming a first plurality of trenchesand a first plurality of mesas in the termination region, each trench ofthe first plurality of trenches extending from the first main surfacetoward the heavily doped region to a first depth position; filling thefirst plurality of trenches in the termination region which is outsideand adjacent to the active region with a first dielectric material;forming a second plurality of trenches in the active region and thetermination region, the second plurality of trenches being formed beforethe first plurality of trenches, each trench of the second plurality oftrenches extending from the first main surface toward the heavily dopedregion to a second depth position; filling the second plurality oftrenches with a second dielectric material; planarizing the first mainsurface; and removing the second dielectric material from the secondplurality of trenches in the active region.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising: forming columns of the first conductivitytype and a second conductivity type in the active region, the secondconductivity type being opposite to the first conductivity type, thecolumns extending from the first main surface toward the heavily dopedregion to a third depth position.
 3. The method according to claim 2,further comprising: implanting at least a portion of a column proximatethe first main surface with a dopant of the first conductivity.
 4. Themethod according to claim 2, further comprising: filling the secondplurality of trenches in the active region with a third dielectricmaterial.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a width of theregion defined by the first and second plurality of trenches in thetermination region is approximately 20-60 micrometers.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first dielectric material is identicalto the second dielectric material.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein at least one of the first and second dielectric material is anoxide.
 8. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having anactive region and a termination region surrounding the active region,the method comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate having firstand second main surfaces opposite to each other, the semiconductorsubstrate having a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type atthe second main surface and having a lightly doped region of the firstconductivity type at the first main surface; forming a first pluralityof trenches and a first plurality of mesas in the termination region,each trench of the first plurality of trenches extending from the firstmain surface toward the heavily doped region to a first depth position;filling the first plurality of trenches in the termination region whichis outside and adjacent to the active region with a first dielectricmaterial; forming a second plurality of trenches in the active regionand the termination region, the second plurality of trenches beingformed before the first plurality of trenches, each trench of the secondplurality of trenches extending from the first main surface toward theheavily doped region to a second depth position; filling the secondplurality of trenches with a second dielectric material; planarizing thefirst main surface; and removing the second dielectric material from thesecond plurality of trenches in the active region; doping at least aportion of a first sidewall of each of the second plurality of trenchesin the active region with a dopant of a first conductivity type; anddoping at least a portion of a second sidewall of each of the secondplurality of trenches in the active region with a dopant of a secondconductivity type, the second conductivity type being opposite to thefirst conductivity type.
 9. The method according to claim 8, furthercomprising: filling the second plurality of trenches in the activeregion with a third dielectric material.
 10. The method according toclaim 8, wherein a width of the region defined by the first and secondplurality of trenches in the termination region is approximately 20-60micrometers.
 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the firstdielectric material is identical to the second dielectric material. 12.A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having an active regionand a termination region surrounding the active region, the methodcomprising: providing a semiconductor substrate having first and secondmain surfaces opposite to each other, the semiconductor substrate havinga heavily doped region of a first conductivity type at the second mainsurface and having a lightly doped region of the first conductivity typeat the first main surface; forming a first plurality of trenches and afirst plurality of mesas in the termination region, each trench of thefirst plurality of trenches extending from the first main surface towardthe heavily doped region to a first depth position; filling the firstplurality of trenches in the termination region which is outside andadjacent to the active region with a first dielectric material; forminga second plurality of trenches in the active region and the terminationregion, the second plurality of trenches being formed before the firstplurality of trenches, each trench of the second plurality of trenchesextending from the first main surface toward the heavily doped region toa second depth position; filling the second plurality of trenches with asecond dielectric material; planarizing the first main surface; formingcolumns of the first conductivity type and a second conductivity type inthe active region, the second conductivity type being opposite to thefirst conductivity type, the columns extending from the first mainsurface toward the heavily doped region to a third depth position; andfilling the second plurality of trenches in the active region with athird oxide.
 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:implanting at least a portion of a column proximate the first mainsurface with a dopant of the first conductivity type.